Council Actions

August 22, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold its next meeting September 16-20, 2019 at the Town and Country Inn, 2008 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407. The meeting week begins with a series of committee meetings and concludes with a meeting of the Full Council on Friday.

A formal public comment session will be held on Wednesday, September 18th beginning at 4:00 PM. An online comment form will be available for written comments, and the meeting will be available via webinar as it occurs.

Agenda Highlights:

Red Snapper – The Council is considering alternatives to modify the start dates, days of the week, and minimum number of fishing days required for opening the red snapper seasons. Public hearing comments received in August will be reviewed as the Snapper Grouper Committee continues discussion of Regulatory Amendment 33.

Best Fishing Practices and Use of Powerhead Gear – The Council is scheduled to approve Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 29 addressing best fishing practices including requirements for descending devices and modifications to current hook regulations. The amendment would also modify restrictions on powerhead gear.

Dolphin Wahoo – The Dolphin Wahoo Committee will continue to discuss management actions and alternatives for both dolphin and wahoo to include in draft Amendment 10 to the Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan.

Additional Information:

Additional meeting information will be available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/council-meetings/ as it becomes available. Briefing book materials, including the meeting agenda, committee agendas/overviews, and the public comment form will be available on August 30, 2019.

August 22, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved Draft Addendum VI to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Spiny Dogfish for public comment. New Hampshire and Rhode Island have scheduled hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addendum. The details of those hearings, as well as a public hearing webinar follow:

August 21, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board releases Draft Addendum VI to Amendment 6 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass for public comment. Atlantic coastal states from Maine through North Carolina, including Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum VI. The details of those hearings follow. Massachusetts is still scheduling its hearings; a subsequent release will announce the details of those hearings once they are finalized.

August 20, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Robert E. Beal, Executive Director of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, hasannounced the selection of Mr. Geoffrey White as the Director of the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP). Mr. White has been with the Commission for more than 20 years and has worked in various capacities for ACCSP for the past 15 years. Since 2015, Mr. White has coordinated and managed the transition to and full implementation of state conduct of the Access Point Angler Intercept Survey (APAIS), an integral component of the Marine Recreational Information Program. Mr. White replaces Mr. Michael Cahall, who served as ACCSP Director from 2007 to May 2019.

“Geoff’s long-standing dedication to the Commission and ACCSP, combined with his outstanding record of accomplishments over two decades, made him a clear choice for ACCSP Director,” stated RobertBeal. “Hisleadership in overseeing the transition of APAIS from a federal contractor to state conduct for the states of Maine through Georgia is particularly notable. With an extensive background in both fisheries science and information technology, Geoff is ideally suited for this position. He understands the absolute necessity for high quality, dependable, and timely fisheries data, as well as the need to leverage technological innovations to improve efficiencies at all levels of data collection and management.”

The commercial harvest of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone in federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 24, 2019, and will re-open on March 1, 2020. The northern zone for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel includes federal waters from North Carolina through New York. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of Spanish mackerel in or from the northern zone federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits while the recreational sector is open, but those fish may not be sold.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

Commercial landings are projected to reach the commercial quota for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the quota from being exceeded.

DURING THE CLOSURE:

The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for Spanish mackerel does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, August 24, 2019, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

During the closure, a person on board a vessel that has been issued a valid Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for coastal migratory pelagic fish may continue to retain Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel in the northern zone under the recreational bag and possession limits, as long as the recreational sector for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel is open.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at https://www.ecfr.gov .

NOAA Fisheries is accepting comments on an application for an amendment to an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). NOAA Fisheries provided FWC with an EFP in November 2018 for certain areas in the South Atlantic. FWC is requesting to amend their EFP to add additional sampling areas (including portions of the Gulf of Mexico [Gulf]), additional fishing vessels, additional number of traps, remove the requirement for research traps to have current certificates, and remove the approval for fishermen to sell any species caught from the research specific trap except lionfish. The updated proposal is summarized below. The applicant is testing various modifications to wire spiny lobster traps to harvest lionfish. This study intends to examine the effectiveness and performance of modified trap designs for capturing lionfish, with the goal of identifying the best modifications to maximize lionfish catch and reduce bycatch of other species. The activities would also derive biological life history information to improve lionfish control.

AMENDED PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Increase the sampling area from Alligator and Looe Key in the South Atlantic to all Federal waters of the South Atlantic off Monroe County, Florida, and portions of the Gulf. In the Gulf, sampling with traps would occur in depths from 150-300 feet (46-91 meters) southwest of a line defined by 25°21’ N. lat., 84°00’ W. long at the northwest corner and by 24°28’ N. lat., 83°00’ W. long., at the southeast corner (see map below).

Increase the sampling period from two times per month to two to four times per month over the course of the calendar year, including during the spiny lobster closed season.

The maximum number of traps that would be allowed to be deployed at any given time would increase from 100 to 300 (200 in the South Atlantic and 100 in the Gulf).

Maximum soak times would increase from 21 to 28 days per deployment.

Increase maximum number of sampling trips from 40 to 160 per year.

Increase number of federally permitted commercial fishing vessel participating in the study from two to eight.

Remove the requirement that traps would be required to have a current endorsement, stamp, or certification; however, FWC would mark each of the research traps.

Contracted commercial fishermen would no longer be permitted to sell any catch from the research traps except for harvested lionfish not needed for research purposes.

Representative sub-samples of any fish species would be collected by FWC for species identification verification in the laboratory as needed.

August 15, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will hold a week-long work session that is open to the public. The GMT meeting will be held Monday, October 7, 2019 from 1 p.m. until business for the day is completed. The GMT meeting will reconvene Tuesday, October 8 through Friday, October 11 from 8:30 a.m. until business for each day has been completed.

August 14, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) Atlantic herring fishery is projected to have harvested 92% of the Period 2 allocation by August 17, 2019. Beginning 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, August 18, 2019, the Area 1A fishery will move to zero landing days through August 31, 2019, as specified in Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring.

Vessels participating in other fisheries may not possess more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip per day harvested from Area 1A. In addition, all vessels traveling through Area 1A must have all seine and mid-water trawl gear stowed.

August 14, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet on Wednesday, August 21, 2019. The public is invited to attend in person or listen live via webinar or telephone. Here are the details.

LOCATION: The meeting will be held at the Hotel Providence in Providence, RI.

START TIME: 9:00 a.m

WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting will be available at Listen Live. There will be no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422. The access code is 927-194-100. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for fishing years 2020 and 2021 as managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

The SSC also may discuss internal organization issues and other business.

COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8 a.m. on Monday, August 19. Address comments to Council chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them tocomments@nefmc.org. The address for mailing comments is: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill #2, Newburyport, MA 01950.